Ubuntu for Android

Canonical has announced Ubuntu for Android, bringing its Ubuntu desktop experience to multicore Android smartphones docked with a keyboard and monitor. According to the announcement, users can have Android and Ubuntu running simultaneously on the same device, with seamless sharing of contacts, messages, and other common services.

All data and services are shared between the Ubuntu and Android environments, so Android applications such as contacts, telephony, and SMS/MMS messaging are accessible from the Ubuntu interface. And, all data on the smartphone can be accessed at any time, whether the device is docked or not. The desktop can also include Windows applications, using thin client and desktop virtualization tools.

According to the announcement, the customized version of Ubuntu drops in cleanly alongside the rest of Android, and the necessary Android modifications are designed for easy integration. Hardware requirements include support for HDMI and USB; standard features in high-end handsets are planned for late 2012.

Mark Shuttleworth says, “Carry just the phone and connect it to any monitor to get a full Ubuntu desktop with all the native apps you want, running on the same device at the same time as Android. Magic. Everything important is shared across the desktop and the phone in real time.” For more information, see Mark Shuttleworth’s blog or the Ubuntu website.

It is no secret that Ubuntu isn't the coolest, new-kid-on-the-block distro sensation anymore – actually that news is already a few years old. Still, Ubuntu has kept itself in the headlines with community dramas, desktop debates, and a crowd-funding effort to launch a mobile phone. The Ubuntu vision is so vast and enthralling that it is hard for the press – and the Ubuntu management – to let it go: a single unifying Linux popping up on phones, tablets, desktops, servers, and other devices that no one has even invented yet.